


She Cried for You

by daneicole



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Crimson Flower Route, I peppered the fic with my own ships based on my playthrough just for fun, Multi, Other Characters Briefly Mentioned - Freeform, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, but it's focused on edeleth lol, let's say Teach got to recruit almost everyone before the war started
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27472819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daneicole/pseuds/daneicole
Summary: Caspar gets too inebriated for his own good and blurts out something Edelgard did during the five years their dear professor was gone.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 3
Kudos: 60





	She Cried for You

“Y’know, Professor, Edelgard cried for you for five years,” Caspar blurted out, his tongue unfortunately let loose by too much mead. 

Everyone huddled around the open fire in front of the steps near the dining hall grew quiet for a moment. Dorothea was quick to try and dissipate the awkwardness of the situation by hushing Caspar with a slap to the arm. Linhardt then hoisted him up from where he was sitting, and Caspar did not have any qualms with it given that he was too drunk to care. 

He actually looked pleased that it was Linhardt who was holding him. 

“Caspar’s got too much to drink, so it seems,” he said nonchalantly, as if his friend’s words did not cause a great deal of discomfort among them. “I’ll help him walk back to his quarters.” 

They watched as Linhardt and Caspar trudged towards the direction of the dorms. A collective sigh rose from among them not long after, including Hubert who is well-known on keeping his reactions concealed. Sylvain let out a low whistle as he looked away from the group, and Felix angrily nudged him at the side. All eyes then turned to Byleth, and by extension, to Edelgard. Byleth did not seem to be fazed by what Caspar said, but a closer look would reveal that the gears in her head had already begun whirring. Edelgard, on one hand, kept her gaze down on the half-finished mead in her cup. She then raised her head and told her friends that it was awfully late for them to be awake, and that they should all run along to bed to replenish their strength for tomorrow. 

The rest of the Strike Force nodded among themselves in agreement, and they all rose from their places and set off for their respective rooms. Dorothea tripped as she stood, and Petra was quick to catch her so as not to let her completely lose her balance. The songstress laughingly mumbled something about losing her touch with what she drinks, to which Petra merely responded with a smile on her face. Hubert would have stayed and escorted the Emperor back to her own room, but he realized that his charge clearly needed some time alone with the professor, who had just come back from a five-year absence. Instead, he walked side-by-side with Ferdinand, who was also prone to losing his balance due to the alcohol running in his veins. Bernadetta then gave Edelgard and Byleth a curt nod, and she meekly retreated to her room—she hasn’t changed in that department, Byleth had thought. 

“I’ll tend to the fire, Felix,” Byleth said when Felix moved to extinguish the flames. “Go get some sleep.” 

Felix nodded without a word and jogged after Sylvain, who was playfully hooting at Ingrid for heading to the direction of Mercedes’ room instead of her own. Ashe tipped a finger at Edelgard and Byleth before leaving the open fire as well, limping as he did. Annette mentioned earlier that he took a hit that was meant for her during a scouting mission. 

Now, only the two of them were left by the open fire. Byleth poked at the embers to feed the flame, and Edelgard looked on as the professor worked on the burning logs. Byleth then settled back to where she sat beside Edelgard and turned her eyes to the direction of the pond. 

“I’m sorry,” Byleth spoke after what seemed to be a few minutes. 

“What for, my teacher?” Edelgard asked, taken aback by the sudden apology from the professor. 

“I’m sorry, for leaving you all on your own for those past five years,” Byleth continued, her gaze still set on the pond. “I promised to be by your side, and I wasn’t able to keep it. I even made you cry.” 

Edelgard felt a painful twist within her chest. She had half a mind to deal with Caspar for his words once he has sobered up, but she realized that the man merely spoke the truth and that he had no ill intentions with saying it. 

“My teacher—” 

“I’m no longer your professor, from the looks of it. I think it’s best if you call me by my name from here on.” 

“Old habits die hard, and I suppose I’ll never stop learning from you, even after all these years.” 

“Please, El, for me.” 

Hearing her childhood nickname from Byleth’s lips caused a peculiar warmth to bloom within her, and had the circumstances been different, she would have deemed this moment somewhat intimate. 

“Alright...Byleth,” Edelgard spoke slowly, as if to prime her tongue on the feeling and sound upon saying her teacher’s name. 

“Like, I said,” Byleth continued. “I failed to keep my end of the deal, and I would like to atone for it.” 

“My—Byleth.” Edelgard was still struggling to say her teacher’s name. “There is nothing to atone for. You are now here with us, and that is all that matters.” 

Byleth did not so much as turned to Edelgard. “Still, I could have returned sooner. Or maybe I should not have thrown myself in the path of Rhea’s claws in the first place. If I kept myself level-headed that day, I would have been with you for the last five years instead of sleeping Sothis-knows-where.” 

“I believe it’s too late to ponder on that now. What we should focus on instead is what our next move will be, and that we should see this through for the sake of Fodlan’s future.” 

Byleth frowned, a rare look Edelgard has seen on her teacher’s face. It was apparent that Byleth was still guilt-ridden over something she did not really have full control of—despite having a body fused with the Goddess herself, surviving such an attack from The Immaculate One, let alone waking up from it, would definitely require a lengthy period of recuperation. 

“Byleth,” Edelgard called, still not used to referring to the professor by her name. “Byleth, look at me.” 

Byleth refused to look at her. “El, I made you cry.” 

“And I don’t blame you for it.” 

That caught Byleth off-guard, and she turned to meet Edelgard’s eyes. “Why?” 

“Why? It’s because you needed to heal first, even if it took such a long time. I had come to understand it bit by bit since you returned, and I have to admit, remembering the tears I shed for you makes me feel like a complete fool.” 

“El...” 

“We’ve all been through a lot of impossibilities even before this war began, and yet I was still quick to lose faith in you the moment you disappeared. I should be the one apologizing to you.” 

“You didn’t lose faith, El. You were grieving. I still could have died that day.” 

Edelgard let out a laugh. “Look at us, deprecating ourselves and trying to convince each other that we were right to feel what we felt at the same damn time.” 

Byleth couldn’t resist smiling at that, and Edelgard felt as if she would melt right there and then. The professor’s smiles had always been a special treat to see, not only for her but for the rest of the Strike Force as well. 

“El.” 

“Yes?” 

The smile flitted away from Byleth’s face, replaced with the stoic expression she was famous for. “I promise not to make you cry again.” 

Edelgard chuckled. “With the rate things are going, please don’t make any promises you can’t keep.” 

Byleth placed a hand on Edelgard’s arm, slightly tightening her grip on it. “No, I swear on my life. I promise not to make you cry again, El.” 

Edelgard could have swooned right there and then, but she steadied herself. It was not the right time to be giddy. She wasn’t even sure of what the professor actually feels as she gave her vow. Perhaps she was saying this to her akin to a parent with their child. It deflated her to some extent, yet she convinced herself that there are far more important things to worry about than her significance in the professor’s life. 

They were in the middle of a war, for Goddess’ sake. 

Edelgard settled with placing her own hand on top of the professor’s, along with a tired smile. “You don’t have to risk your life to prevent me from doing something that is natural for me, or for anyone else, to do.” 

“It...doesn’t sit right with me when you cry, El.” 

Edelgard shook her head. “That’s understandable, but please, believe me when I say that you have nothing to answer for in regards to the tears I shed in the time you were gone. You’re back, and that is enough for me.” 

Edelgard stood up before Byleth can say anything in return, and she bade the professor farewell for the night. Byleth followed suit and offered to escort Edelgard to her room before retiring to her own. Edelgard wanted to refuse, then she figured she could at least be a little selfish tonight and take the opportunity to prolong Byleth’s presence around her, even for just a little bit. The two snuffed out the open fire and made their way to Edelgard’s quarters. Once they were in front of the door to Edelgard’s room, the two stood still, as if waiting for each other’s next move. When it was clear that neither of them will move unless the other does, Edelgard took it as a sign to retreat to her room. 

“Thank you for the escort,” Edelgard said. “And for coming back to us.” 

With a nod and a smile, Edelgard closed the door. Byleth lingered in front of the door, unsure for a moment of what she was bound to do next. She then turned her heel and made her way to the personal quarters she was assigned to back when she first started teaching. 

For some reason, Byleth was expecting for Edelgard to invite her in, and it turned out that she was wrong about it. Something about things not going the way she expected did not sit well with her, and try as she might in understanding it, she had no one else to turn to at that moment to ask about it. 

_I’ll ask Dorothea tomorrow_ , she thought. _After_ _I’ve talked to Caspar._

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first shot in writing an Edeleth fic, so this may come off as rough around the edges (not sure if there will be a follow-up). Took a good number of liberties here and there, but it's all honest work. I might have spent a considerable amount of time wading through the fics for this ship and found an urge to just...write.


End file.
